So I've been thinking about the Random Homeworld table and the relative chances of getting a particular result and it doesn't quite sit right with me. Here's the current table, including the results possible from Enemies Within/Without/Beyond:
01-15 : Feral (Odd: Death)
16-33 : Forge (Odd: Feudal)
34-44 : Highborn (Even: Frontier)
45-69 : Hive
70-85 : Shrine (Even: Garden)
86-100 : Voidborn (Even: Agri)
Doubles : Research
Sum 8 : Daemon
Sum 13 : Penal
"ones" digit 0 : Quarantine
This gives you the following percentile chances of getting a particular result (I think I've calculated these correctly; any mistakes should only be out by 1 or 2 percent):
09% Agri-World
09% Daemon World
08% Death World
15% Feral World
09% Feudal World
18% Forge World
06% Frontier World
08% Garden World
11% Highborn
25% Hive World
06% Penal Colony
10% Quarantine World
10% Research Station
16% Shrine World
15% Voidborn
Even a cursory glance at these odds and you can see that there are some things that...don't quite add up;
- More Acolytes come from Hive Worlds than any one other world; that sounds about right. Hive worlds have massive populations, so lots of people come from them. Great.
- More Acolytes come from Daemon worlds than Penal Colonies; hang about, I'd have thought Inquisitorial recruits from Daemon worlds would be pretty rare and aren't the Imperium somewhat renowned for it's free and easy use of penal recruits? "Strap on a collar and send 'em out" is practically an Imperial Guard slogan.
- More Acolytes come from Quarantined worlds than Agri-worlds...err, what?
Of course, the actual instances of Acolytes from the "optional" worlds (i.e. non-Core Book ones) are going to be lower, because they overlap other results and there's the matter of choice involved, both of the player and the GM. So there'll be less Daemon World Acolytes in practice than the above numbers indicate, for example, but the point still stands that the odds of having that choice seem a bit skewed.
My second issue with the current distributions is thematic. Ignoring the numbers for a minute, let's take a look at the table.
- Death Worlds are, thematically, quite similar to Feral Worlds. Great. You have the option, if you roll a certain number, of picking a slightly different, but similarly themed Homeworld.
- Forge Worlds are...er, not like Feudal Worlds at all?
- The Highborn share a similar outlook to Frontiersmen?
No, apart from Daemon Worlds, with their "Sum 8" thing going on, the thematic elements of the table are all over the shop.
So...how can we fix this? First step, let's look at theme;
Agri-World : There's a lot of these and some have large populations. The rural equivalent of a Forge or Hive World in many ways, but also has some thematic link to Feral worlds with the type of Acolyte it produces.
Daemon World : Few enough of these are even in the Imperium, let alone suitable for recruiting from and very little of the populations of those few are suitable for recruitment. No real thematic links to other worlds.
Death World : The Feral World connection is undeniable; the harsh conditions, tough Acolytes they produce and so forth. Typically less of them than Feral Worlds and lower populations.
Feral World : Feral Worlds are, I think, relatively common and though their populations are typically low, they make good recruits for the Imperial Guard; easily indoctrinated, tough as nails and "warrior cultures" are common.
Feudal World : Many of these share a religious connection with Shrine Worlds. The Feral World connection of being technologically impaired is also pretty obvious. On the whole, these should be pretty rare; it's a peculiarly specific real-world time-period that these default to (though not limited to, of course).
Forge World : The Inquisition needs techs and the best techs come from Forge Worlds. Acolytes hailing from them should be relatively common.
Frontier World : These backwaters are probably pretty common, but their low populations and hard to reach places should make Acolytes coming from them fairly rare. The resourcefulness and tech-savvy of Frontiersmen make them attractive recruits, though. Thematically, I think they have a lot in common with the Voidborn, but where the Voidborn are weird and spooky, Frontiersmen are up-front and earthy.
Garden World : Ah, the life of privilege. The Highborn connection is clear to see; not all Garden Worlders are rich, but they live in luxury nonetheless. Soft and squishy, they're better suited to the talky-talky than the fighty-fighty; whilst the Inquisition needs fast-talkers, the squishyness and naivety of Garden Worlders makes them typically unsuitable. Garden Worlds are and should be pretty rare and Acolytes from them should be equally rare.
Highborn : Not so much a Homeworld as much as it is a Rank, I imagine the Inquisition enjoys employing the strong-willed upper-classmen this entry can represent. Still, the nobility is small compared to the untold billions of the unwashed masses and many Highborn will be entirely unsuitable for the Inquisitions purposes.
Hive World : Ah, the Hives. Home to a grand majority of the vast population of the Imperium. A common Homeworld because of sheer numbers. For the Inquisition, though, the resourcefulness of the typical Hiver is an attractive quality.
Penal Colony : Escapees or former inmates should be rare; the Inquisition doesn't like disobedience, but recruits from the Penal Legions, for use as Inquisitorial Cannon Fodder are a definite option. With the right incentives, Penal Colonists can make good Acolytes; tough, resourceful and paranoid; everything an Acolyte needs to survive! No real themetic links to other Homeworlds; perhaps Frontier?
Quarantine World : Rare. As. Rocking Horse. No one is supposed to go to or leave these things, regardless of their populations or frequency. That makes Acolytes from them a true rarity. Thematically linked to Death Worlds, I guess, depending on the reason for the Quarantine, but either way a good choice if you're looking for someone with a bit of guile.
Research Station : The intellectual bretheren of the Forge Worlds, Acolytes from Research Stations are Loremasters beyond compare. 'Nuff said, really.
Shrine World : The Emperors Will burns brightest here and the populations reflect it. Easily manipulated by invoking the Holy Throne, Acolytes from Shrine Worlds are attractive Inquisitorial candidates, if a little unsubtle at times. Relatively few worlds can claim the title of Shrine World, but lots of people like living on them, so it kind of balances out.
Voidborn : There are many ships and thus, many Voidborn, but they tend to be insular and don't like leaving their ships. The spacey weirdos that live on them have a strange kind of personal independence vs. community reliance; a dichotomy that sets them apart from ground-pounders, but gives them a link to those who live in Research Stations or other small communities.
From here we can start pairing them up;
Agri-World - Forge, Hive, Feral?
Daemon World - None
Death World - Feral
Feral World - Death, Feudal, Agri?
Feudal World - Shrine, Feral
Forge World - Research, Agri
Frontier World - Voidborn, Penal?
Garden World - Highborn
Highborn - Garden
Hive World - Agri
Penal Colony - None, Frontier?
Quarantine World - Death
Research Station - Forge, Voidborn
Shrine World - Feudal
Voidborn - Frontier, Research
Now let's get the basics down. As far as I'm concerned, there's five common Homeworlds, the rest being anomalies or variations of them;
Feral World
Forge World
Hive World
Shrine World
Voidborn
Now let's add some linked variations;
Feral World - Death World
Forge World - Research Station
Hive World - Agri-World
Shrine World - Feudal World
Voidborn - Frontier World
That leaves five anomalies/rarities;
Daemon World
Garden World
Highborn
Penal Colony
Quarantine World
We can link Highborn and Garden worlds easily, so let's go ahead and do that. Penal Colonists should be far more common than Daemon or Quarantine Worlders, so we need to make sure we account for that. Now we need to mash it all up and plug in some numbers. Once we do that, we might end up with something that looks a bit like this;
01-15% : Feral World (Odd: Death World)
16-30% : Forge World (Odd: Research Station)
31-55% : Hive World (Odd: Agri-World)
56-70% : Shrine World (Odd: Feudal World)
71-85% : Voidborn (Odd: Frontier World)
86-87% : Quarantine World
88% : Daemon World
89-00% : Highborn (Odd: Garden World)
Doubles : Penal Colony
Which gives us (original percentage in brackets);
13% Agri-World (09%)
01% Daemon World (09%)
08% Death World (08%)
15% Feral World (15%)
07% Feudal World (09%)
15% Forge World (18%)
08% Frontier World (06%)
06% Garden World (08%)
12% Highborn (11%)
25% Hive World (25%)
10% Penal Colony (06%)
02% Quarantine World (10%)
07% Research Station (10%)
15% Shrine World (16%)
15% Voidborn (15%)
Which, to me, seems like a far better distribution and thematically linked table (you'll also notice that all the "alternative worlds" are on an odd result; no having to remember which proc on an odd result and which on an even result). The only entry I'm not entirely happy with is 86-87, because it's the only result you don't get a choice on. I could juggle the numbers a bit and make Quarantine Worlds an option on 01 or 00, perhaps, but I differed on it.
Do you agree with my table, assumptions, judgement on the different worlds and their thematic links and rarity? Have you managed to get this far, through my ramblings and thoughts-out-loud to reach the end result? If you have, my thanks for bearing with me! Any suggestions, criticisms or comments are more than welcome.
Edited by Jolly P